{"id":6857,"date":"2018-06-07T13:00:39","date_gmt":"2018-06-07T20:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=6857"},"modified":"2018-05-12T17:19:35","modified_gmt":"2018-05-13T00:19:35","slug":"mark-watches-alias-s05e17-all-the-time-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/06\/mark-watches-alias-s05e17-all-the-time-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Alias’: S05E17 – All The Time In The World"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the final episode of Alias<\/i>, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m happy. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to finish Alias<\/i>.<\/p>\n

This isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a perfect finale, and the show dropped the ball in a few areas, but in terms of the emotional effect, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All The Time In The World\u00e2\u20ac\u009d did what I needed it to do. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s chat!<\/p>\n

Rambaldi<\/b><\/p>\n

Look, I swear that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need everything answered, and I actually love stories that leave things up for interpretation. Audience speculation and theorizing is A VITAL PART OF MY LIFE. At the same time, this episode\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s script has some truly odd choices in it. Why the hell<\/i> don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t we get to see what happened in that cavern with Arvin? I get that he felt Sydney hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t earned it, but what about the audience? Why was it necessary for him to go there? As far as I can tell, there was nothing in the cave that led him to The Horizon. He got the Sphere from Irina Derevko, and apparently, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all that he needed for Rambaldi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s final device, the one that would achieve the impossible: immortality. So\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 was that scene in the cavern completely unnecessary? If Rambaldi was able to figure out the secret to immortality, why didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t he use it himself? How was he ever able to figure out all of this stuff? I suppose that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the major things that the writers left up to the audience, but both of these details bothered me from a continuity perspective, the former more than the latter. Does it matter int he end? Somewhat. Alias<\/i> hinged itself on Rambaldi as this grand mystery, but then only resolved certain parts of his story.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For example: what would you say was his general<\/i> goal? Just developing ridiculous shit? Global genocide? World peace? Achieving immortality? Puzzles? Because there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no single thread here, despite that Rambaldi-obsessed groups like Prophet Five always made<\/i> it seem like there was. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just chaos, and I would have appreciated even the slightest hint that there was some end goal Rambaldi sought through all his absurd works.<\/p>\n

Motivation<\/b><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I see the same problem with another aspect of the plot: why the hell did Irina and Arvin orchestrate to destroy the defense satellites? We are told that it was a means to profit off of the massive reconstruction the world would need after those missiles were launched. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s basically hinted that the missile strike would probably be the first of many as nations overreacted and fired their own in retaliation. But\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 money? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s it<\/i>? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see what power that would grant these people aside from the financial gain of making money off human misery and suffering. Even more confusing, it became clear during \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All The Time In The World\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that what both of these characters wanted was immortality. So\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s with blowing up the world? You just wanted to be the only two people who were still alive? I just feel like the missile plot was added to for tension, which I bought because I thought it was leading to a bigger revelation.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yeah, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get it. I feel like this would have been more fulfilling if the missile threat had some meaning beyond, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Make money!!!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The immortality stuff, though? 100% BELIEVABLE, especially<\/i> for Sloane. RUN WITH THAT.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Endgame<\/b><\/p>\n

Where this episode just totally kills is (sometimes literally) is in the emotional beats. There are so many<\/i> of them that are necessary and incredible and shocking, and they help resolve five seasons worth of struggles and conflicts. Not for everyone<\/i>, mind you. I still feel like Dixon got the short end of the stick in season five and in the show in general. WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO. (Well, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m gonna complain about it.) But holy shit, of course<\/i> Arvin wanted immortality. In his mind, what better way to achieve everything<\/i> he ever wanted if he literally cannot die ever<\/i>? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m curious how long before the events of this finale did he figure out what Rambaldi had accomplished, because y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, that would also help explain why he was willing to just fuck over everyone and everything. He knew he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d live forever. It certainly helps me understand why he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hesitate to shoot Jack. He was going to outlive him anyway, right?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, the writers still allow us the satisfaction of watching Sydney shoot Arvin to death. If anyone had to do it, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad it was her. Plus, it makes Arvin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153demise\u00e2\u20ac\u009d even more poetic. After Arvin is revived by The Horizon, he thinks he has won. He believed so wholly that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d gotten what he wanted that Jack\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sacrifice drives home the ironic tragedy of his life. Oh, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to live forever; he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just going to do so buried deep under rubble in a place where no one will ever find him. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S WHAT HE DESERVES, I AM SO HAPPY WITH THIS ENDING, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. And Irina\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ending is a direct parallel to this, since her excess and greed\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe very same thing that motivated her to manipulate Jack, to turn on Sydney in the end\u00e2\u20ac\u201dis what causes her fall. SEE WHAT I DID THERE. (Couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t resist.) The two final antagonists are victims of their own philosophy, and I LOVE IT.<\/p>\n

All The Time In The World<\/b><\/p>\n

I joke a lot about characters in stressful, intense shows needed vacations, so I admit that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m biased to enjoy the final scene of Alias<\/i>. And while Dixon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s appearance helps us understand that, from time to time, Sydney and Vaughn do<\/i> return to the world of espionage, the bigger reveal is that they did it<\/i>. They escaped. They have found a way to exist in the world without<\/i> risking their lives every single day, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the kind of ending I wanted for them. The emotional resonance of them living on the beach is the cherry on top, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, as is their second child, Jack. They get to be happy<\/i>.<\/p>\n

That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all I could ask for.<\/p>\n

So, tomorrow! There will be a massive Q&A party for the whole series, so COME PREPARED. After that, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be starting Yuri On Ice<\/i>, season 1 on Monday, June 11!!! Thank you for this journey, friends.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All The Time In The World\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now available for pre-order!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"